Salt Lake City breaks ground on new solar farm

Published: Tuesday, Nov. 26 2013 5:10 p.m. MST

A photo of Salt Lake City Councilwoman Jill Remington Love and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker sits next to a solar panel during the announcement of the citys new solar farm project at a groundbreaking event Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013, at the project site, 1995 W. 500 South in Salt Lake City. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

On completion, the solar array will produce 1 megawatt of renewable energy from 3,000 panels covering roughly four acres. The project was financed as part of the publicly approved new Public Safety Building and will help that facility achieve a net zero energy rating.

“The solar farm is a first for Salt Lake City,” said Mayor Ralph Becker. “We are utilizing a historical landfill — space that cannot be used for traditional development – to harness renewable energy and offset the energy use at the Public Safety Building.”

To achieve net zero, a term applied to buildings that produce as much energy as they use, the Public Safety Building utilizes energy efficient building practices and solar energy harvested both on the roof of the facility and through the new solar farm. The two sites will produce enough energy to offset the power requirements of the Public Safety Building.